View full size"Something in the Air" from France. One of the films featured in the second weekend of the 36th Portland International Film Festival.

"SOMETHING IN THE AIR"

In the early 1970s, a group of Parisian high school students get caught up in anarchist politics, waging war against police and others who seek to oppress their free speech. But things get out of hand when a thuggish security guard is injured during one of their attacks, forcing them to flee the country. That starts an exploration of sex, drugs, art and foreign culture that forces them to re-assess their values.

The opening sequences of this film from director Olivier Assayas are gripping, as students flee baton-wielding police, then embark on a late-night vandalism spree at a school. But the drama becomes mired with too many characters, too many shots of pretty Italian scenery and an unfocused story. Other films have more effectively captured the tumult of France's student uprisings; this one falls short.